


champagne problems

by kaleidoscopecolours



Series: taylor swift inspired [1]
Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types
Genre: Champagne Problems, F/M, Inspired by Taylor Swift
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-18
Updated: 2021-01-18
Packaged: 2021-03-16 07:14:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,463
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28827270
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kaleidoscopecolours/pseuds/kaleidoscopecolours
Summary: inspired by Taylor Swift's song Champagne Problems.Modern-day AU.
Relationships: Katniss Everdeen/Peeta Mellark
Series: taylor swift inspired [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2113650
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	champagne problems

**Author's Note:**

> one of my first fics!   
> inspired by Champagne Problems by Taylor Swift. I don't own Champagne Problems or the Hunger Games series (nor the characters within them)

_ ‘"She would've made such a lovely bride _

_ What a shame she's fucked in her head, " they said _

_ But you'll find the real thing instead _

_ She'll patch up your tapestry that I shred’ _

“I’m so sorry,” She whispered under her breath. She had already said it at least ten times since he had asked and she had declined. The tension in the air was so thick she wasn’t even sure where to begin with cutting through it. She usually didn’t have to but this time she knew that she was in the wrong. So, so in the wrong. 

Katniss understood where his hurt and anger was coming from. The both of them knew that their relationship was heading down the serious route pretty early on. She was it for him, as he had told her for years. And he was it for her. She knew no one would ever love her the same way that he did, so unconditionally. 

The word yes had been at the tip of her tongue. She would swear for the rest of her life that she wanted to say yes. But it was all her insecurities and anxieties about their relationship that kept her from her own happiness. What if he changed his mind? She took the words of one of her uncles last Christmas to heart- she really could live a thousand lifetimes and never deserve him in a single one of them, no matter how hard she tried. Katniss knew she should have let him go a long time earlier, but he was one of the few people she loved. She loved having him around and wasn’t sure how to navigate the conversation of ‘i-love-you-but-i’m-no-good-for-you-so-you-should-get-out-now’. Where to begin, how it would go or end. But this was one way of forcing it to come out earlier. 

He made showing his love for her seem so effortless, with freely given kisses wherever he could reach- on her shoulder, cheek, chin, forehead, hairline, hands. The way he would make her breakfast while she got ready, just to make sure she had eaten something proper before she started her day. The way he was patient with her when she was having a bad day, unable to get out of bed. She was sure no one could love her better. 

_ You have to do this for him. You’re freeing him.  _ She thought to herself. If she had said yes, she would be only saying it for her own selfish gain. What would he have to gain from this? She struggled with her emotions and expressing them on a good day. She was grumpy and hot headed. She wasn’t particularly pretty, as all of the boys that lived in their town liked to remind her, and didn’t feel smart either. 

She sat chewing her nails the whole drive home, with their relationship rapidly unwinding to the sound of tires moving over the gravel, rural roads of their hometown. 

Peeta’s hands were clenched around the steering wheel tightly. Unlike her, Peeta was easy to read. 

The question had been burning at him for a while. They had been living together for over a year, and together since they were sixteen. At twenty-six and twenty-seven, both with university degrees, steady jobs and income, a shared apartment and friends, it just seemed natural. He didn’t even have to think about wanting to spend the rest of his life with her. He was already planning on it, he just wanted to make it official. Tied together for life. 

Her mind spiralled with the possibilities of where this relationship was going to go. He deserved a better future than her. Katniss didn’t want to let go of him, but it was for the better that she did in her opinion. He could easily move on with anyone he liked- he was good looking and kind. He could cook, he was a good listener. The list of positive traits went on. 

He didn’t respond to her any of the times she had said it. She knew trying to start a conversation when the both of them were so wound up was a bad idea, especially if she was the one starting it. Her words always got her in trouble. 

He pulled into the driveway of their small house that they shared and turned off the engine. 

“So what now?” He finally looked at her. She hated herself for the look in his eyes.  _ It’s for the better,  _ she reminded herself on a loop. 

“What do you mean?” She asked. 

Peeta inhaled deeply, grounding himself before he could lose control over the emotions running through him so rapidly. 

“I mean where do we go from here? Are we meant to go on pretending that I didn’t just ask you to marry me? Because I can’t do that, Katniss. That’s not fair to me.”

She tried her best not to let her voice wobble. “I love you, so much,-” He looked like he wanted to interrupt but she held up one of her hands. “I really do. And I want to say yes so badly. I just also think that you deserve so much better than me. This is the only time I’ll say it, but your mother was right. I only bring you down. And I’ll keep doing it-”

He unbuckled his seatbelt abruptly, cutting into what she was saying. He jumped out of the car, the door slamming slightly behind him as he walked up to their front door. She jumped to follow him. 

“So I’ll ask again, so now what, Katniss? What do you picture us doing now? Because I can’t picture this going on further if you’re going to believe what my mother, of all people, say about anyone. Do you believe everything she says about me, too? That I’m worthless, that I just should have died when they amputated my leg?” He knows she doesn’t think any of those things, but it hurts to know that she doesn’t see what he does. 

She’s fiercely loyal, sometimes to a fault, and protective. She is smart, and resourceful. She could light the whole world on fire if she wanted to, with the passion and love she has in her soul for doing what’s right. 

“Of course I don’t think that!” She exclaimed, horrified at the thought of it. “But it’s not just her saying it. You deserve better. And I’ll be damned if I keep on holding you back, and if a piece of paper binds your soul to my miserable one.”

One beat passes. Then two. 

“So you want to break up.” He nodded melancholically. The tears drip shamelessly down his face. 

He grows red and embarrassed at the thought of their friendship group chat. Their friends wanted to know how it went. They had all known the both of them for years and wanted to share in the joy. But there would be none. He was sure Madge had already bought the champagne. 

“Peeta…” Her tone was pitiful. 

“I’m going to my brother’s. I’ll be back tomorrow for my things.”

He headed back out the front door of the house, and it wasn’t long before she heard the rev of his engine and the noise as he went down the street. 

She wasn’t sure when she ceased to be able to hear his car, but when it sunk in that he really was gone, her legs gave out. She thankfully landed on the couch, not that it mattered much to her. Her limbs felt so heavy like they all weighed a thousand pounds each, and someone was closing her eyelids for her. She knew she should probably get up and do something- ring his brother to make sure he had gotten there safely, text her friends to let them know what had happened. But she couldn’t find the energy. 

There, she thought to herself. He was finally free of her. 

She wasn’t sure when Johanna and Madge came in, or  _ how  _ they did since neither of them had a key, something she had made sure of when her and Peeta moved in so that they could get some space from their friends. She felt Madge’s hand on her shoulder, however, tucking a blanket around her and her weight settling on the couch. A delicate hand stroked her hair away from her face, as Johanna banged around the kitchen noisily. 

Katniss felt like her head was underwater. All the noise was muffled and sounded hazy. Her eyes wouldn’t focus. But she knew this was his doing. Making sure she wasn’t alone and wouldn’t do anything stupid. Even after everything he was looking after her. 

She buried her head in the sand further. This was how it should be. Her, alone, and him better off for it. 


End file.
